Approved for 12+

Promises

Self-made millionaire Rolando Dominguez (Carlos Guerrero) could not resist the tempting pleasures that came with his success and now finds himself homeless, demented, and tormented with flashbacks of his regretful mistakes and broken promises to his son Rollie (Carlos Guerrero Jr.), who has gone missing. Rolando struggles with his guilt as he faces the harsh reality that the fortune he worked for in his pursuit of happiness is the very thing that has destroyed his life. Meanwhile Detective Stevens (Steven Bauer) has vowed to bring Rollie back home to his desperate mother Vanessa (Carmen Lopez) whose six-month agony has led her to question her faith while clinging on to the last bit of hope to see her son again.
12
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
12345
FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

“Promises” features the story of a wealthy man, Rolando Dominguez (Carlos Guerrero), who works hard, parties hard, and never has much time for his wife or son. His son, Rollie (Carlos Guerrero Jr.), notices this and acts out, like hitting his dad’s car, to get his attention. Rolando says the right things, that he will spend time with Rollie later on, but he never seems to get around to it, even missing Rollie’s birthday party. Both Rollie and his mother are heartbroken when they drive by and see Rolando, while he is making an excuse on the phone as to why he can’t be with them, with a woman.

This story is told in flashbacks as we see a homeless Rolando, with a big beard from not having shaved in a long while, hanging around the pier and, at times, acting strangely and frightening people. He beats up a plush shark at the beach and seems to have conversations with himself. He also endures the ridicule of those who don’t care for homeless people. Eventually, we learn why he is so lost and what happened to him, and the film makes use of Mark 8:36, which asks the question, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

A couple of scenes involve suicide and the topic of suicide, which we wish to note. In one scene, a man states that if anyone commits suicide, they will not go to Heaven. Considering the fact that this is a controversial topic, and people who have lost their minds or become totally despondent have committed suicide at times, we want viewers to be aware of the comment. Also, a scene involves a man taking his own life at the end of the film, and he winds up seeing a loved one in Heaven, both of them dressed in white. We feel the need to give a caution about this scene, as some might think the film encourages the act of suicide to get to Heaven, but we don’t believe that was the intent. The film mainly focuses on the tragic results of neglecting what is important in life: God and family.

We are awarding our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal to the film for ages 12-plus.

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

None

0
Integrity

A man kicks a man; a man hits a trash can repeatedly; a man is hit with a stick; a man stabs a plush shark and scares people around him; police beat a man out of control, although not much is shown of it, but blood is visible on man; young men drop an egg on homeless man's head.

2
Sex

Woman speaks harshly to homeless man and tells him her husband left her for a tramp; an innuendo about having sex; man kisses girlfriend while wife and son drive by; a comment about people being "horny" and promiscuous; husband and wife kiss.

2
Language

G/OMG-8; B*tch-1; Ba*tards-1; D-3; H-4; "Son of a..." (not finished)-1; "Witch"-1; A dad calls his son "Spoiled, little brat"; Wimp-1; Dork-1; Freak-1; Bum-1; "Duh"-1; "Homeless Loser"-1; "Freakin' Sicko"-1; Sucks-1; Butt-1

2
Violence

A man kicks a man; a man hits a trash can repeatedly; a man is hit with a stick; a man stabs a plush shark and scares people around him; police beat a man out of control, although not much is shown of it, but blood is visible on man; young men drop an egg on homeless man's head.

2
Drugs

Man passes out cigar at birth of his baby; man pretends to smoke beef jerky like it's a cigar; a scene in which two inmates act like they roll up a joint with real paper and act like they take a few pills from their mouth and swallow them; people at a party drink champagne.

2
Nudity

A man's stomach is visible throughout a lot of the film; a woman's stomach is visible as she belly dances; shirtless men and boy; cleavage, including a close-up; shirtless men at beach and people in swimwear; a woman cries in the bathtub, and we see her bare shoulders.

2
Other

Tension between characters; a husband and wife fight; a woman confesses her sins to a priest who tells her they are forgiven; man puts on gloves to steal money from homeless man; man is urinating from behind; a boy hits his dad's car to get his attention and upsets his dad; a man grabs a man and then hugs him like a son; a homeless man searches through trash and eats leftover food; man with tattoos; a character says, "I hate you"; the subject of suicide, and one man says people who kill themselves don't go to Heaven; the ending features a man killing himself and seeing a loved one again, although the man had lost his mind; a boy goes too far out into the waves and a shark is seen nearby; boy drowns.

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